The NKyTribune is offering focused coverage of NKY high school football throughout the season, thanks to support from St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. See all our pre-season features on each of NKY’s 21 high school football teams and follow our coverage, including roundups each week at Northern Kentucky High School Football.
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Brett Slusher has two older brothers who played on state championship football teams at Beechwood and he finally has a chance to carry on the family tradition.
Slusher rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns to lead Beechwood to a 34-25 win over Russellville in the semifinals of the Class 1A playoffs on Friday.
That puts the Tigers in the championship final for the first time since 2008. They’ll play Pikeville at 7 p.m. Thursday at Western Kentucky University to decide the title.
Slusher has a lot to do with Beechwood’s return to the state championship game. He’s the team’s leading scorer and pass receiver on offense and one of the leading tacklers on defense.
After a knee injury sidelined the team’s leading rusher two weeks ago, Slusher started carrying the ball more and he picked up nearly half of his team’s 237 rushing yards against Russellville.
Slusher scored twice in the first half that ended with Beechwood holding a 21-13 lead. His final TD came in the fourth quarter and put the Tigers ahead 34-19 with less than nine minutes left to play.
All five of Beechwood’s touchdowns came on rushing plays. The other two were scored by senior quarterback Kyle Fieger and junior running back Aiden Justice. Fieger also completed 11 of 16 passes for 125 yards. Slusher caught four passes for 77 yards.
Beechwood finished with a 372-337 advantage in total yardage. Russellville running back Josh Bigbee accounted for much of his team’s 292-yard rushing total with breakaway touchdown runs of 58 and 63 yards.
RUSSELLVILLE 7 6 6 6 — 25
BEECHWOOD 14 7 7 6 — 34
B – Slusher 12 run (German kick)
R – Bigbee 58 run (Watkins kick)
B – Fieger 10 run (German kick)
R – McMurry 1 run (run failed)
B – Slusher 4 run (German kick)
R — Bigbee 63 run (run failed)
B – Justice 38 run (German kick)
B – Slusher 6 run (kick failed)
R – Thomas 6 run (run failed)
RECORDS: Beechwood 14-1, Russellville 11-3
LAFAYETTE 42, SIMON KENTON 28
Simon Kenton’s bid for a perfect season came to an end Friday with a 42-28 loss to Lexington Lafayette in the semifinals of the Class 6A playoffs.
Simon Kenton (13-1) took a 28-12 lead when Tanner Green caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cam Racke with 4:45 left in the second quarter. But those were the last points scored by the Pioneers, who were limited to 107 yards during the second half.
Lafayette scored twice in the third quarter to take the lead. The second touchdown came on an 83-yard pass from junior quarterback Walker Wood to junior wide receiver Quinton Brown to make it 35-28.
A shanked punt gave Simon Kenton a chance to regain the the lead. The Pioneers got the ball at the Lafayette 47-yard line and moved it to the 19 in five plays. But Racke fumbled a handoff and Lafayette recovered it to snuff out the drive with 6:10 left.
The Generals put together another scoring drive of its own after that turnover and got a touchdown with 1:24 left to secure the victory.
“We just couldn’t get the ball moving,” SK senior wide receiver Logan Scott said of his team’s scoreless second half. “We were doing everything we could, but in the end it just didn’t work out in our favor.”
Lafayette finished with 528 total yards. Wood accounted for most of it by completing 18 of 30 passes for 304 yards and rushing for 104 yards on 26 carries. Brown caught six passes for 193 yards and two TDs. The Generals’ leading rusher was Mason Alstatt with 120 yards and two TDs.
Simon Kenton had 335 yards (180 rushing, 155 passing). Racke completed 13 of 18 passes for 129 yards and rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries.
SIMON KENTON 14 14 0 0 — 28
LAFAYETTE 12 18 15 7 — 42
L – Brown 4 pass from Wood (pass failed)
SK – Racke 44 run (McNamara kick)
SK – Scott 35 pass from Racke (McNamara kick)
L – Wood 3 run (pass failed)
SK – Racke 1 run (McNamara kick)
SK – Green 8 pass from Racke (McNamara kick)
L – Alstatt 9 run (Alstatt pass from Wood)
L – Wood 7 run (Guilfoil pass from Wood)
L – Brown 83 pass from Wood (Duprey kick)
L – Alstatt 4 run (Duprey kick)
RECORDS: Simon Kenton 13-1, Lafayette 12-2
At last, the game we’ve been waiting weeks for is finally upon us. It seems like most years you don’t end up with the two best teams in the class playing for the title. Sometimes there’s an upset, and sometimes the top two teams end up on the same half of the playoff bracket. But this year, we’ve been gifted an early Christmas present. Covington Catholic (14-0) has been #1 all year, and is currently riding a state best 29 game winning streak. South Warren (14-0) began the season at #3, but ascended to #2 after conquering Bowling Green. Both teams know a thing or two about running clocks, each team having posted numerous mercy rule scores this season. This is the best possible matchup 5A could offer, and it has all the makings of a classic. Who will claim the title of top dog in 5A and hoist the hardware at Kroger Field?